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Dual citizen cleric arrested in Lebanon

Karlis Salna

A Lebanese-Australian cleric arrested in Lebanon once called on jihadists to attack Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.

Hussam Sabbagh, who has Lebanese and Australian citizenship, was arrested over the weekend at a security checkpoint in Tripoli in northern Lebanon by soldiers acting on "several arrest warrants" issued for his alleged involvement in "terrorist activity".

The Sunni cleric, a prominent backer of the armed revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has been linked with the radical group Fatah al-Islam, and is accused of recruiting and sending fighters across the border into Syria.

While Sabbagh, believed to be aged in his 40s, has denied the allegations against him, the website Al Akhbar claims he is known as the "emir" or commander of al-Qaeda in Tripoli, the largest city in northern Lebanon, about 85 kilometres north of the capital Beirut.

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He is said to command about 300 fighters, although some reports suggest his forces number twice that.

It's understood Sabbagh, also known as al-Hajj, or the pilgrim, further uses the aliases Abu al-Hassan or Abu Mazhar.

According to Al Akhbar, Sabbagh arrived in Australia in 1987 after fleeing Lebanon and Syrian security services.

He worked in construction before returning to Lebanon in 2004. He came to prominence two years ago.

Another terror suspect, Omar Khodor, who is in the custody of Lebanese army intelligence, has reportedly confessed that he was on his way to meet with "Sheikh Hussam Sabbagh" in north Lebanon to hand him funds to be used in preparing car bombs.

According to Al Akhbar, Sabbagh once opposed jihad in Australia in retaliation for the nation's participation in the war in Afghanistan, because Australia was a country that "gave us shelter when none did".

Instead, the website said, he called on jihadis to fight against Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.

Sabbagh's arrest at the weekend along with one of his bodyguards angered the cleric's supporters, who later exchanged fire with the army in the Sunni-majority district of Bab al-Tebbaheh.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said on Monday the Australian embassy in Beirut was following up reports of his arrest.

The development came after Canberra confirmed that an 18-year-old Melbourne man was behind a deadly suicide bomb attack in Iraq last week that killed five people.

He is the second Australian suicide bomber to have been involved in the Iraq and Syria conflicts.

Attorney-General George Brandis said it was a "disturbing development" that reinforced the domestic security threat now confronting the nation.

"The participation by Australians in the conflict in Iraq and Syria poses a significant domestic security threat to Australia when those involved return home and seek to pursue violence here," Senator Brandis said.

The 18-year-old, who was 17 when he left Australia last year, was described by terror group ISIL as a "knight" and martyr and named as Abu Bakral Australi.